Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Today, I'll be writing out thank you cards for the never ending circus party.

My thank you note to all of you would read something like this:

To all the sweet and encouraging people that read While Wearing Heels, every day I feel like I am having a Cinderella, this is too good to be true moment. With each new follower and each wonderful comments I get, I still feel as if I need to pinch myself to make sure this too good to be true moment is for real. I am incredibly humbled but mostly flattered that you take the time to read my blog and show your support.

AND, a BIG thank you to the many amazing blogs that are out there. Because of you I have found a creative
outlet that had otherwise gone untapped. The blogs I follow inspire me,
challenge me and give me hope. As a result I felt like a more
confident and capable mom, wife and creative person. Thank you for welcoming another blogger into your folds and making me feel like part of your family.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Here are my monthly thrifty finds. Some you may have already gotten a sneak peek of...

Mirror, mirror on the wall. I found this mirror for $2.99. I loved the design, it had a very whimsical, circus feel to it. I added
chalkboard contact paper over the mirror and transformed it for Grace's
party.

I have been looking for a beaded handbag. When, I found this beautifully beaded clutch in a Goodwill bin, I felt like it had been placed there just for me. I held my breath as I asked the price {it was missing the tag}. When my Goodwill fairy Godmother returned to tell me it was $1.49, I had to pick my jaw up off the ground. I did some research when I got it home and it is vintage Sax Fifth Avenue from 1964. Beyond a doubt, this is one of my favorite finds.

Does this clock look familiar? I picked up this beauty for $6.99 and decided to give it a little update. If you want the tutorial, you can find it here. If you decide to do the same, make sure you give your clock a little pep talk before you start. You don't want to 'tick' it off :)

This large sterling silver tray had a $19.99 price AND, though I loved it, I could not justify spending $20. Happily, I had a 'meant to be' moment with this tray when a week later, on half off anything with a pink sticker day, I saw my tray, gleaming at me with a pink sticker. At $10, this tray and I were meant to be together.

A Game fish of the United States of America puzzle, still in the original packaging, for .99 cents. How cute is the tin it came in? It's perfect for a lake house or cabin SO I donated this to my parents' cabin.

Nowhere near impressive in the picture as it is in real life, this glass vase was only .99 cents. I realize, the picture makes it look like a glass but it is a perfect vase, in the prettiest shade of blue.

The only thing I love more about getting a good deal is sharing it. What thrifty finds have you come across lately?

Monday, June 25, 2012

Where there's smoke there's fire...Okay, not really. {That would be dangerous and this is a kids' toy, after all.}

Interested in the tutorial. Here it is...

Find yourself a scrap piece of wood, approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall and 3/4 inch thickness. Footprints on said piece of wood not required :)

In pencil, draw out a flame design.

Using a band saw, cut along your lines. To preserve your fingers, make your first cut on line 1. This will leave you more wood surface to hold onto while guiding the blade. Work your way out, leaving the 5th cut as your last cut.

After you finish your 5 cuts, sand down each section.

*I only sanded the outside layer. With each layer of paint I added, the thickness increased, making it more difficult to fit back into place. Sanding each layer, even a little bit, should easily correct this.

Paint each layer. I used both latex and acrylic paint. Starting from the center, I used black, transitioning to red, transitioning to orange and finally to yellow.

This wooden fire nesting puzzle will certainly heat up imaginative play for your little one.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

For Grace's Arts and Crafts Party, last year, we put out a birthday wishes jar. I liked the idea of our guests leaving sweet wishes for the birthday girl. It was one of those extra touches that made me happy.

This year, I wanted to do something a bit different. Something that had a circus feel to it that could double as art. In the end, I decided to do a fingerprint guest book page.

Since I already defiled my dictionary by tearing out a page for my reverse silhouette of Riley, I defiled it some more by taking out the elephant page as well.

I taped that dictionary page to a piece of printer paper.

I found a google image of an elephant I liked at Olli Bird. I rotated the image in word slightly, so it looked like it was floating and then I printed it out.

*I did a few test runs on blank paper to determine image size and exact placement for the dictionary page.

It ran through my printer without any issues. I guess if it had jammed, I could have defiled that poor dictionary one more time by taking out the circus page :). Thank goodness it didn't come to that.

After my successful print, I tried to remove the tape BUT the dictionary page was so thin it would have ripped the edges. In the end, I trimmed the sides of the paper cutting off the taped edges.

At the party I left the elephant 'guest book' out, along with some washable red ink, for guests to leave their fingerprints on.

About Me

Adjusting to life since being laid off. When days used to consist of business deals and wearing heels. Now that I am a stay at home mom, in addition to taking care of my adorable little girl, I am learning more about cooking, crafting and creating while realizing that even though I am a stay at home mom, I can still wear my heels!

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